The technology called "flash doses" produces dosage units which readily dissolve in the consumer's mouth. Tab-letting compositions using this concept have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,587,172, 5,616,344, and 5,622,719, all incorporated by reference and all assigned to Fuisz Technologies Ltd.
Dosage units, i.e., tablets, produced using "flash-dose" technology have better patient compliance than others because they dissolve so easily. However, "flash-dose" tablet mixes, prior to formation into tablets, are often difficult to handle. The mixes are partially amorphous with high cohesivity, so that they often are sticky and flow poorly in tableting devices. They tend to yield processing problems such as "bridging," "arching" and "ratholing."
Arching occurs when the mix forms a bridge across the mouth of a chute or other opening as material beneath the bridge continues onward. Ratholing is the propensity to flow from the middle leaving material clinging to the sides of the vessel or conduit.
There is a need for a method to modify the cohesive and adhesive nature of "flash-dose" tablet mixes and, thereby, reduce the stickiness which leads to arching, ratholing and other processing problems such as sticking and picking of tablets. This invention answers that need.